Cardcaptors: Forces of the Realm
by Mysterious Voice Guy
Summary: Sequel to A Bold New Realm and Within the Realm, our heroes must now face a new villain with the help of a new ally.


Cardcaptors: Forces of the Realm  
Sequel to Cardcaptors: A Bold New Realm and Cardcaptors: Within the Realm  
Fanfic by Ryan Edgerton; you know me by now.  
  
Chapter 1- The Unexpected  
  
Draeon looked thoughtfully at the book he held in his hands, rubbing his hands over it's leather cover and tracing it's ancient title with his fingers. Around him lay the dead bodies of enemy warriors and scattered about on the floor were many of their Cards, all of the which he and his army had defeated and/or slain. Three of his warriors stood nearby to him, guarding him in the unlikely event that their enemy's reinforcements arrived quicker than expected. At this point, he couldn't care if hundreds of Remnant Cardcaptors, his enemies strongest warriors, suddenly appeared on the scene; he now held the book that he had sought after since the first day it's existence was confirmed. He held the Linking Book as if it were a precious jewel, guarding it and cradling the leather bound volume as if it were a child.  
"At last,... now, with access to this book,..." Was all he could say as he beheld his prize.  
Suddenly, a flutter of movement to his right caught his attention. Before he could turn to locate the source, two of his guards hit the ground, likely dead. The blur of movement switched to his left as his remaining soldier realized his own mortality. The white blur turned to face him, suddenly materializing into a human form, it's sword aimed at his throat from a few feet away. Her flashy red hair hung loosely out from under her hood, small strands hanging long over her the warrior's shoulder. He barely made out the green color of her eyes underneath the shadow of her hood, and immediately recognized the white Card she held in her left hand as being that of a Remnant Cardcaptor. He had heard of this one before, but her name existed mostly in rumor and stories. She stood, battle-ready, only an invisible shield between him and near certain death.  
"Well, it appears that we meet at last, 'White Tiger'. Or should I call you Tyra Mirnia, Cardcaptor?" He challenged, holding up the book for her to see. "One wrong move and I'll destroy it."  
"You wouldn't." She retorted matter-of-factly.  
"Wouldn't I, now. Your leaders say I'm not sane, do you want to find out if that's true?" He replied, his tone casual as he held up a blue Card with black and red scroll work around the borders. "Besides, I've already implanted it's signature into my memory; there's nothing you can do to stop me except destroy me, and if you do, I'll make sure I take the Linking Book with me. Do you really wish to test fate, my dear?"  
"I can not allow you to travel to that world, Draeon. Even if you do go there, I will find you and destroy you."  
"Come to think of it, what is keeping me from simply touching the book and disappearing into the other world? Nothing, Tyra, but if you surrender to me I'll gladly give this back to you... once I'm done using it." He laughed, a deep, evil laugh that echoed about in the large cave-like room.  
"You are insane." Tyra observed.  
"Glad we got that cleared away, 'Tiger'. I'll see you on the flip side of the universes!" And with that, he opened the cover of the book. Before Tyra could do anything to stop him he'd touched the inside cover and vanished out of this world into another dimension. The book fell to the ground with a thud.  
She picked it up, looking at the inner cover. There, like as if someone had put a television screen into the first page, spun living images of a lush, green, populated world filled with animal and plant life and teeming with technology.   
Earth, the world that, if Draeon was allowed to go about as he pleased and find whatever he was after, would soon no longer exist. She replaced her Card in her small pouch and likewise touched the glowing image before vanishing in the blink of an eye.  
  
A silver cloaked figure suddenly appeared from within the shadows, a large sword in his hand. The gunmen recognized him immediately and opened fire, but found that seconds later they were shooting at nothing but air. He moved with a speed and grace that almost surpassed human understanding, in a single swipe slicing the handguns in half and in the next second he was spinning to send his assailants into the nearest wall with a spin kick. The other four men in the room pulled out their guns immediately, but not fast enough. He sent one man to the ground with a punch to the chest and swiftly swiped the man next to him's legs out from under him. The other two got about as far as leveling their weapons when a small white blur out of the shadows sent both men to the ground, their weapons sliding several feet away. The strange white bird landed on the silver warrior's shoulder as he drew out a small white Card from the pouch at his side.  
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with guns?" He inquired, then threw the Card in the direction of the fallen weapons. It turned into a small fireball with a word from him, melting the handguns irreparably. Suddenly, he heard a sound to his right. The man he had swept his feet out from under was on his feet again, his weapon leveled at the cloaked warrior. The white bird went into action once again, swooping and darting around the man as he fired half-blindly at the creature. While he was distracted, the warrior leveled him with a rolling kick, knocking the gun out of his hands as he thudded into the nearest wall, which was several feet away. The mysterious figure grabbed the gun and emptied the remaining bullets into his hand before throwing them into a corner. He quickly made his way over to where their kidnaping victim sat, helplessly bound to a chair by tough ropes. With a single swipe of his sword she was free, and he quickly led her by the hand outside where a large group of police officers and squad cars were arrayed. A single officer came up to him.  
"We heard shots fired; is everything OK in there?" Matt inquired with the usual objectivity that comes with a badge and a gun.  
"Everything's fine, officer. I was able to get her out safely; can your people handle the clean-up operation?" Gabor inquired. The girl was quickly escorted by another police officer into one of the many available squad cars and whisked off to safety.  
"Thanks to your help, we should have those crooks behind bars in no time."  
Gabor nodded to Matt as Valconair came flying out of the building, landing loyally on his shoulder. Valconair began to glow, then after a minute or so resumed it's Card form. Gabor placed it back in his pouch securely. With a nod to Matt, he leapt into the air and was jumping from rooftop to rooftop in minutes.  
'Just another day on the job.' He thought to himself. That whole kidnaping scenario had been building for weeks, and he knew it would take his own intervention to catch those lowlifes. He was glad he'd been able to get the young girl out of there safely, not to mention disarm the thugs effectively enough. It should be a piece of cake for his partner, Matt, and the rest of the police force to take care of the bad guys from here on out. Gabor, however, was heading back to his apartment for a rest. Putting his life on the line so much really seemed to take a lot out of him, and if anyone in this city deserved a quick nap right now, it was most definitely him.  
Suddenly, something on a nearby rooftop caught his attention. He spun just in time to see a blast of electricity shatter stone off to his right and immediately turned to track the source. On a rooftop to his left, a pair of figures seemed to be engaged in some kind of Card fight. 'Cardcaptors?' He thought to himself. No, not your regular everyday Cardcaptors, although that hardly said much. Another blast of lightning just barely missed him, it's point of origin being the white figure wearing a cloak and carrying a sword that even at this distance was similar to his own. The other figure appeared to be wearing some kind of armor body suit, although it looked a little bit thrown-together, like he'd made it himself. Gabor figured that this definitely demanded his attention.  
  
"Surrender or face the consequences!" Tyra ordered. Nonetheless, Draeon continued his attack, pulling out a Card that suddenly shot forth a black/blue laser beam straight at her. She deflected it with her sword, but was unprepared for his follow-up attack, a swarm of energy spikes that were coming at her too fast to dodge.  
Suddenly, a gust of wind like from a tornado came out of nowhere, creating a shield in front of her that the spikes were vaporized by. She was surprised by what had happened, but only for a second before turning to find out where the wind shield had come from. Draeon, too, quickly spotted the silver cloaked figure from whence the Event Card had come from.  
"I don't know what's going on here," The tall man stated. "But this is my city and I've sworn to protect it."  
  
Chapter 2- Collision  
  
"Um, excuse me," Draeon questioned. "But who the (censored) are *you* supposed to be?"  
"They call me the Silver Card Keeper and if you're out to cause trouble, mister, you chose the wrong city to do it in. Now, I don't know where you got those Cards, but I'm gonna shut you down." He turned to the teenage girl in the white cloak. "And... who are you?"  
"Men." She rolled her eyes. She quickly drew out another Card. "Just shut up and help me stop him!"  
"Uh..." Gabor looked uncertainly at the situation.  
"Don't just stand there! He's out to destroy Earth!" She elaborated.  
That was all the reason Gabor needed. He activated his sword while pulling out a Card and aimed straight at Draeon.  
"Love to stay and chat, but," He suddenly held a blue Card with black and red scroll work around the border. "I've got better things to do than stay here and get massacred. Goodbye, kids!"  
A sudden sparkle of electricity surrounded him and with a flash of neon blue light he vanished, leaving the two warriors alone on two different rooftops. The woman in white turned, an angry look in her eyes as she glared at Gabor.  
"What did you think you were doing?!!" She shouted. "He got away because *you* didn't do anything! Who knows where he could be by now!!"  
"What? How was I supposed to know he was Sadam Hussain with Cards? Who are you anyway, and who was he, for that matter?"  
"-He- was only the most dangerous warlord this side of the Centauri nebula. Who knows what he could be after this time. I've got to stop him before it's too late for -both- our worlds."  
"Um, excuse me? Mind running me by that again, especially the 'both worlds' part and the 'who you are' part?" Gabor inquired.  
She rolled her eyes once again with a telltale sigh.  
"Who I am is not important, and as for the fact that we come from two alternate earths, that isn't important either. What is important is that I track him down and stop him, now." She locked Gabor with an unfriendly glare. "Next time we meet, let me fight my own battles, OK? For both our sakes, just back off."  
"Hey, you listen-"  
She had vanished over the side of the building before he got a chance to finish his thought. He saw a flitter of white with wings vanish off into the horizon going at super fast speeds.  
"OK, that was unusual." He stated to no one into particular.  
  
Tyra glided high over the city, The Flight Card allowing her flight like she had wings. Actually, with access to this Card, she did have wings. Literally. She sighed, realizing she was now in an alien world trying to track down a hostile ZaeT'kno Cardcaptor warlord who was after who knows what. Draeon was trouble, even on her own world. He lead a group of almost terroristic ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors who had plagued her earth with destruction, evil, and brought in every kind of scum this universe had to offer. Draeon himself was a maniacal madman addicted to power, and his goals were simple: posses the most powerful weapons in the universe. She had no idea who Sadam Hussain was, but if he was anywhere near as evil as that other Cardcaptor had indicated, then the description fit. She had to admit he was kind of cute, but a few cards short of a deck.  
She focused herself on her main objective. She pulled a special Card out of her pouch, activated it with a whisper in Hebrew, and the Card suddenly began to glow a receded glow. She changed her course, following the direction in which the Card glowed brighter, and soon knew she was on her way towards where Draeon had fled. She replaced the Card into her pouch, then picked up speed as she shot off parallel the rising sun. She suddenly realized she still held her sword in her hand and whispered 'deactivate' only seconds before a sudden updraft caused it to fall out of her hand. She gasped in surprise and swooped to grab it, but it eluded her grasp and fell to the ground below. 'Just great...' She thought to herself as it vanished amongst the buildings of the city.  
  
Gabor tried to follow the mysterious Cardcaptor as best he could, but even his amazing land speed was no match for the MPH she was doing in the air. Who was this lady, what was the deal with that guy who was obviously her enemy, and why did she look like...  
He decided quickly not to think about it anymore. He had to focus on what he was doing now, had to focus on finding out what the deal was with this strange new Cardcaptor that had so bruskly rejected him minutes ago.  
He suddenly saw a small silver sparkle fall from her shadowed, now winged form as she flew high above the city. He stopped for a second, noted that she tried to swoop after whatever it was she had dropped, and quickly made a mental note of where the sparkle fell. He figured it would be best to investigate who she was that way; at least she couldn't insult him through an inanimate object. On second thought, perhaps she could. He'd seen so many weird things since becoming a Cardcaptor; it wouldn't surprise him if she could do something like that.  
He quickly located the fallen object, and what he saw shocked him anew. The object he found in the dark alleyway turned out to be a large silver cross necklace identical to his own.  
"I don't believe it..." He said to himself. "Another Remnant Cardcaptor..."  
  
"Another Remnant Cardcaptor? You sure?" Li inquired.  
Gabor stood on the balcony of the school clock tower where Li and Sakura had captured The Time Card, Li and Sakura a few feet behind him. Tomoyo stood over in one corner, videotaping from what she saw as a 'dramatic angle'. Gabor turned to Li.  
"Of course I'm sure. Take a look at this." He held out the silver cross he had picked up. "She dropped this flying away after that guy in the armor. There's no way she could be anything but."  
"If that's true," Suddenly, Kerberus appeared on the scene, much to everyone's surprise. "Then 'Mr. Armor' must be trouble times two."  
"Kerberus, I thought you weren't coming?" Li stated.  
"Yeah, well, I don't exactly trust you three on your own." Kerberus replied.  
"Funny, I seem to remember a certain guardian beast mentioning that he didn't *trust Gabor*?" Sakura prodded. Kerberus got a little sweatdrop.  
"Hey, it's not my fault I'm more cautious than you, Li, and Tomoyo put together." He retorted. All three friends gave Kerberus a look.  
"Right now, I don't really care who does or doesn't trust me, all I know is that I could all use your help if we're gonna track this guy down and find out what the deal with this new Cardcaptor girl is."  
"I'm in!" Sakura stated.  
"If Sakura's in, I guess I'm going too." Li added. He turned to Sakura. "After all, somebody's gotta watch your back."  
Sakura gave Li a look.  
"You know I'm in!" Tomoyo stated. Before anyone could object she said "And I won't just be along as an observer, either. I've got plenty I can do to help you guys win the fight."  
"Like what?" Li questioned, a tone of sarcasm in his voice.  
"Like..." Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know exactly, but it couldn't hurt."  
"Yes it could." Li retorted.  
While Tomoyo and Li battled it out, Sakura turned to Kerberus.  
"What about you? You in, Kero-Chan?"  
"Well duh! You're gonna *need* somebody with my skill and knowledge to join you on this little quest."  
"Well if Kero-chan's going why can't I?" Tomoyo questioned.  
"Look, when you guys decide who's going and who isn't, meet me by the docks. I saw the Remnant Cardcaptor headed northward, so it's best everybody use a Card they can travel fast and long with. I'll meet you there." Gabor stated before jumping out over the side of the balcony."  
  
Chapter 3- Ancient Powers  
  
Draeon had followed a glowing blue Card down the labyrinth of ancient tunnels, using a special shield Card to protect him from the traps built into this ancient maze. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, he came to a steel doorway set in stone. He looked it over, noticing the set of hand print-shaped indents in the door's surface and the fact that the door had no way of opening it that he could see, then quickly decided on a Card. He threw it at the door, and with what seemed to be thought-activated transformation it suddenly became a massive swirling bolt of black fire and electricity. The explosion rocked the tunnel as the forceful attack blew up against the door, sending out a forcewind that blew Draeon off his feet. When the smoke and dust cleared, Draeon picked himself up. He looked, and there was the door still, not a scratch.  
"What the (censored)(censored)'n (censored)!!" He exclaimed, then threw a similar card of electricity mixed with ice at the door. Same effect. "What the (censored) is with this thing?!!"  
He walked over and pounded the door with one of his fists, then pulled away and cradled his sore knuckles in pain. Suddenly, something about the door caught his eye. There was an inscription in gold letters just above the two hand prints.  
"Well, what have we here...?" He inquired, then began reading the inscription. " 'To enter through these secret gates and open these ancient doors, to access what lies beyond that few have seen before... Press two hands to the hand prints here, if you're sure you are the ones, for only may two chosen children enter, or the results will not be fun...' Bah! I'm Draeon the great and powerful! No mere *door* shall stand in *my* way!"  
He pressed his hands to the indents in the door and almost immediately was thrown back by a glowing neon-green electric shock originating from the hand prints.  
He cursed profusely as he got to his feet.  
"There must be a way..." He growled. "I will NOT be denied my prize because of a door."  
  
"Everybody ready?" Gabor inquired. It was the next day, just before sunrise, and Gabor, Sakura, Li, Kerberus, and even Tomoyo had showed up for the adventure ahead. Gabor could see that Li bitterly opposed the idea that Tomoyo should go along this time, but had decided not to mention it. Gabor couldn't help but notice that Li seemed to have a lot of unfocused anger and general distrust bottled up inside him. He'd been praying for Li, and he could only hope it would start effecting him soon, even though that wasn't up to Gabor. Sakura, donning *yet another* new battle costume, compliments of Tomoyo, had her wand ready and The Fly ready to be used. It would be the group's main mode of transportation to wherever that mysterious Remnant Cardcaptor was headed after that guy who Gabor hadn't been able to help stop.  
"I'm ready if Sakura is." Li stated, turning slightly to Sakura.  
Sakura nodded.  
"Ok, then. Let's hit the skyways."  
  
Tyra had been tracking Draeon for almost a full day nonstop, and she knew she was starting to wear out. She knew she was close, but neither her nor The Flight could keep up this search any longer, and she knew it. Apparently, not soon enough. She suddenly felt her wings give out, going almost limp. She fought it with everything she had, but knew that if she didn't get close to the ground soon there wouldn't be anything left of her to search with. She swooped over a large patch of trees, looking for a clearing where she could touch down, when suddenly the Card gave out altogether, the wings vanishing suddenly and without warning. She plummeted to the green plants below, not knowing if she might break her neck or even if she'd survive the landing...  
  
"So," Sakura asked once the five friends were airborne. "How are we gonna find them?"  
"We find her, we find that other wacko. And" He pulled out a Card with a picture of a large silver cross on it. "This Card should lead us straight to her."  
"How's that work?" Tomoyo inquired from in the back.  
"If someone besides the owner of one of these kind of Cards tries to activate it, the Card will automatically home in on it's owner. So long as we can keep up with the Card, we can find her." Gabor explained. He then shouted his word in Hebrew, activating the Card, which promptly shot out of his hands like a slippery bar of soap before flying off just barely to the group's right. "OK, let's follow that Card!"  
  
Tyra awoke to the feeling of someone applying a bandage to her left arm. Her eyes slowly dialed into focus and she made out the faces of three people crouched over her. One was the Cardcaptor from the rooftop almost two days ago; he was the one applying the bandage. The other two, a girl with brown hair and a boy with black in strange outfits, she didn't recognize. She groaned and tried to move, but found herself unable to due to a massive migraine.  
"Shh..." The Cardcaptor whispered. "Don't try to move. It looks like you've taken quite a beating. What'd you do, fall out of a helicopter?"  
"Yeah... something like that, I suppose." She responded. "How did you find me?"  
"We followed your cross sword Card." The young boy stated. "Where's the other guy, the one you were trying to stop?"  
"I don't know... I was trying to find Draeon when my wings gave out. I kind of crashed."  
"I can relate." The girl stated with a smile.  
"Um, excuse me," A strange creature that looked kind of like a yellow stuffed animal with wings flew into view. "But don't we kinda have a mysterious villain on the loose? We can't wait around here while 'Wonder Woman' recovers if the fate of the *world* might be on the line!!"  
"Kerberus, I'll say this as nice as I can:" The Cardcaptor replied. "Back off; I know what I'm doing." He turned back to Tyra. "You rest now. We'll go after that creep Draeon once you're feeling up to it."  
  
"How long was I out?" Tyra asked. She was feeling much better after a few hours rest, despite the large bandage over her forehead. She, Sakura, and Tomoyo sat on a fallen log around the campfire Gabor and Li had made. The others sat opposite them on another log that Gabor and Li had dragged over to the campsite, the whole group munching on what little food supplies Tomoyo had packed for the adventure, which mostly consisted of sandwiches and soda cans. Kerberus had a large bag of chips next to him and was munching on the snacks with animal intensity.  
"The better part of a day I'd guess." Gabor said, handing her the bag of chips. Kerberus gave him a look, and Gabor returned it. "Where were you headed before you fell?"  
"Somewhere just north of here, I'm sure of it." Tyra replied.  
"Any idea what he's after?" Sakura asked, taking another bite of her sandwich.  
"Not a clue, but whatever it is, it must be powerful. How do you open this thing?" She held out her can of soda.  
"I'll open it." Gabor popped the top on the can and the soda fizzled a little before he handed it back to Tyra. "Tell us everything you know about this guy."  
  
The six adventurers set out the next morning, following Tyra's The Tiger Card. Being a predator by nature, this Card had the ability to track down whoever Tyra was after regardless of where they went. According to her, she'd used it many times before to track down escaping spies and enemy forces back on her home earth, a world she described as 'one big war zone and nothing more'. She explained her story to everyone as she went, saying that she was the sworn protector of a special, powerful book that anyone who touched it would be transported here, to this earth and this universe. She'd foolishly left her post just a day before Draeon and his forces attacked, and had gotten back just too late to stop Draeon from fleeing into this world.  
"I must stop him, destroy him if need be. I was entrusted with the guarding of that Linking Book and I broke that trust. I must set things right."  
"But how will you get home? Does he have the Linking Book?" Gabor inquired.  
"No. The moment you touch a Linking Book's inside cover you're instantly transported from one world to another. The book stays in it's native world." She sighed, then stated. "I don't know exactly how I'll get home. I may be stuck here, with all of you for a while."  
"You make that sound like a bad thing!" Kerberus enthused with a smile.  
"C'mon, Kero, you know what they say. 'There's no place like home'." Sakura stated.  
"Thank you, 'Dorothy'." Kerberus rolled his eyes.  
  
Chapter 4- Secret of Old  
  
"There!" Tyra suddenly pointed downward. Beneath them was a vast system of mines and subterranean caves. Tyra's Card glowed pure white until, when pointed at the caves, none of it's form could be seem past the intense light it was emitting. "He's down there! I'm going in after him!"  
"Tyra! Wait!" Gabor called as she jumped skillfully off Fly, shouting the word in Hebrew. With a flash of light her wings were back and she was cutting air downwards towards the caves. "OK, this calls for Card power." Gabor pulled a Card of his own out and turned to Sakura and Li. "I'll meet you guys down there, OK? Somebody's gotta keep her from doing something stupid on her own."  
He leapt off Fly, following after her. With a sudden flash he vanished into thin air, the result of a teleport Card likely. Li shook his head and turned to Sakura.  
"Wildcards is right."  
"C'mon, Fly, let's land!" Sakura instructed.  
  
"Here they come..." Draeon muttered to himself. He pulled out a Card, and suddenly he vanished like a chamaeleon against the rocky surfaces all around him.  
  
Tyra rushed headfirst towards the nearest entrance to the cave-like mines, her angel-like wings vanishing slowly as her The Tiger Card glowed with a fading brilliance. Suddenly, Gabor materialized in her path.  
"You just don't know when you're not wanted, do you?" She stated, pushing past him. He made no attempt to stop her as she headed for the entrance.  
"Look, I know I messed things up before, but I didn't know then about what Draeon was up to. You have to admit, you caught me off-guard with this whole thing the first time." She ignored him still, and he was forced to chase behind her to stay in hearing range. "You don't have to do this alone, Tyra. Sakura, Li, Tomoyo, Kerberus, and I are on your side here; don't think you need to fight this battle solo, and don't think we'll let you, either. I'm not a sidelines person, and neither are you, I can see that." He rushed ahead, getting in front of her in the blink of an eye. "Let us help."  
"You're pretty fast." She observed. "Listen, I know this tyrant, I've fought his armies before and I know his tactics. You are all strangers to-"  
"We're not strangers, Tyra." He held out his hand. "We're friends, friends who wanna help."  
"I don't have time for this." She rushed past him again, only to have him re-appear in front of her like she had never pushed aside. "How did you-?"  
"Valconair Card, one of my best. Has a special speed-enhancing power to whomever uses it."  
"Only the strongest Remnant Cardcaptors have a Valconair. Where did you get yours?" She queried.  
"In a Card book under the floorboards of an old house, next to a leather-bound Bible." He explained. "Now listen, I'm coming along whether you like it or not. So are Li, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kerberus. We can either work as a team, or work on our own. Your call."  
She seemed to study his eyes for a while, trying to 'read' him, figure him out.  
"I remind you of someone, don't I?" She asked at last.  
"... Yes, you do."  
She gave him a look, the obvious question of 'who?' showing in her eyes.  
"It's a long story, and a painful one. I'd really rather not bring it up." Gabor stated, looking slightly away with a look of mixed hurting memories and a small bit of embarrassment in his features.  
"Hm. You're human after all." Tyra smirked. "Ok, you and the kids wanna tag along, I guess I've got myself a strike force."  
Fly landed nearby only moments later, and Li, Sakura, and Tomoyo dismounted. Kerberus simply glided off as Sakura called the giant bird back into it's Card form. Li drew his sword and held it at his side.  
"Well, let's go!" He enthused, and with a nod from Tyra the group too off into the mines.  
  
It wasn't long before the group came across the massive doors.  
"Houston, we have a problemo." Kerberus stated. "Where the heck did this come from?!"  
"Let me check it out." Li stated. He walked up to the door, looked it over in great detail, then read the inscription out loud. " 'To enter through these secret gates and open these ancient doors, to access what lies beyond that few have seen before... Press two hands to the hand prints here, if you're sure you are the ones, for only may two chosen children enter, or the results will not be fun...' Sounds to me like somebody went through a lot of trouble to make sure nobody but these 'two chosen children' can open these doors. If I didn't know better, I'd swear these doors were built by ancient Cardcaptors or something."  
"We can probably blow through it. No defense is impenetrable." Tyra stated.  
"The question is, do we want to? I mean, what are the chances Draeon is behind here? There's no possible way he fits the description of 'two chosen children'." Gabor stated.  
"Good point." Tomoyo said, making sure to get video footage of the massive doors.  
"Yeah, let's check elsewhere." Sakura said, turning to go.  
"Hold it!" Li exclaimed. "Sakura, maybe we can open up these doors. 'Two chosen children'; think about it!"  
"Yeah, I mean, maybe Sakura and Li fit the description!" Kerberus stated.  
Tyra put a firm hand on Li's shoulder.  
"Treasure hunts later." She instructed. "First we find Draeon."  
"But... we can't just leave it here now that we've discovered it! Besides, there's nowhere else to go in the tunnels; the other branches are blocked by boulders and stuff, remember?" Li stated, turning to Gabor. "Besides, there *is* a chance he bypassed the doors with some kind of teleport Card or something, right? We should at least try!"  
"Maybe, but we should check out every other possibility first. It's most likely these things block out stuff like teleport Cards, because if they didn't, they wouldn't prove to be a very good defense, would they? We should check around for other tunnels, and see if maybe he isn't in hiding somewhere nearby."  
"No way." Without any warning, Li pressed his hand to one of the two hand prints inset in the door's frame. Gabor got about as far as opening his mouth before the door began to glow with a strange, grey-silver light. He pulled away suddenly, and the glow receded. "Whoa... it worked! Did you see that?"  
"Whoa, kid's onto somethin'." Kerberus said to no one in particular.  
"OK, so Li is one of the 'two chosen children' who can open the door, so? We need to find and stop Draeon, not explore ancient secrets." Tyra chastised.  
"She's right." Gabor added. "Besides, who knows what's back there behind that door? For all we know we could be playing with some kind of Atomic Bomb."  
"Maybe." Li stated with a knowing-kind-of-look. "Or maybe *this* is what Draeon was after! Maybe this is why he came to earth!"  
"In that case, we definitely shouldn't open it." Tyra stated. "We'd be playing right into Draeon's hands."  
"Darn right!" Came a voice out of nowhere. They all spun to see Draeon's form materialize against the rock background of the mine wall. Before any of them could react, a sudden darkness overwhelmed them.  
  
Chapter 5- The Untold  
  
Gabor awoke to find himself face-to-face with the rock floor of the damp cave, someone shaking his shoulders gently. He groaned and rubbed his head, then slowly got to his feet with Tyra's help. He looked about, seeing that Li, Sakura, and Kerberus were all gone. Tomoyo lay, her camera on the floor next to her, over in the corner.  
"Ugh... Tyra, what happened?"  
"Draeon must have used his Phantom Sleep Wave card on us. We've been out for nearly a half an hour, I'd guess. He must have took Li, Sakura, and Kerberus" She motioned to the now-opened doors. "Into there. C'mon, help me wake Tomoyo. The Sleep Wave probably hit her especially hard because she doesn't have any kind of Cardcaptor protection."  
They roused Tomoyo with great effort and explained the situation.  
"But why did they take Kero-Chan?" She asked, wondering one question that had been on all three of their minds.  
"I don't know." Gabor stated. "But we'll find out soon enough."  
"We must take no more chances." She pulled out two Cards and motioned for Gabor to do the same. "The Tiger and The Flight should provide us with ample fighting power, plus The Tiger's eyes are sharp beyond anything humans can see. Draeon will not sneak up on us again."  
Her Cards materialized at the sound of her activation word, transforming into a sleek white tiger with piercing, mirror-like eyes, and a bird creature similar to Gabor's Valconair. The Tiger's white fur seemed to be almost transparent in a strange way, a little bit like the cave wall was reflecting itself off of the sleek, nearly metallic fur, it's claws were like short swords in their appearance, it's tail was regal and long, almost seeming to come to a point like a spearhead. The Flight was by a good deal larger than Valconair, it's eyes a brazen gold color and streaks of blue like deep sapphires flowed outward in fading waves from it's beak like ripples in the water, and it's long, elegant wingspan was almost as long as Gabor was tall, easily filling the small cave when unfurled. Gabor activated a pair of his Cards too, The Shine and The Valconair phasing into existence just in front of him. The two predatory birds looked at each other in silent, almost unfriendly communication, a glare of distrust passing between them.  
"The Flight is a very predatory bird, even attacking other birds for it's meals, much like the golden eagle of your world." Tyra explained, proving she knew her fair share about Gabor's universe's earth. "Valconair is much closer to a red-tailed hawk, and it often has a distrust for Cards like Flight."  
"And with good reason." Gabor stated, then looked Valconair in the eye. "Valconair, I won't ask you to be friends with Flight, but we do need you to be able to work together, for Li, Sakura, and Kerberus's sake. Can you do that for me?"  
Valconair looked from Gabor to Flight, then back to Gabor. It nodded, agreeing to Gabor's request. Tyra gave her Flight a look that said about what Gabor had spoke to Valconair, and with a wary look at Valconair, it agreed. Tyra and Gabor looked at each other, a single thought passing between them. 'Just like us...'  
"Well, now that that's squared away, how about we rescue my friends?" Tomoyo asked, interrupting the look of friendship that passed between Tyra and Gabor. They turned to her, looked at each other, then nodded. Without another word, the seven of them took off into the shadowy darkness behind the open doorway.  
  
"Let me go, you creep!" Sakura hollered. Draeon held her arms from behind, forcing her along in front of him. "Where's My friends?! What have you done with them?!"  
"Why don't you see for yourself?" He laughed, turning her around and putting two Cards in front of her face. There was a picture of Li on one Card and a picture of Kerberus on the other. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes.  
"Wh-w-what have you done to them?!!" She exclaimed.  
"Let me tell you a little something about ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors, my dear. We're thieves, some of the best thieves in existence. What I've done is locked your 'friends' into special storage Cards I made myself, and I'd do the same to you if I didn't need you for getting through the next part of the Challenge."  
"W-what?"  
He laughed a deep, evil, secretive laugh that spoke volumes about the danger ahead.  
'Gabor, Tyra,' She thought silently, looking at the Cards that now held her friends captive. 'You gotta get me outta this..., help..."  
  
As Shine's glow cast an eerie illumination on the massive cave, Gabor couldn't help but feel,... well,... weird. Almost like some new variety of deja-vou. He could tell that Valconair felt it also, it's eyes darting almost nervously from one part of the place to another. He looked at Tyra, who seemed to have her usual air of calm about herself, despite their weird surroundings. Flight, too. Tiger led them onward, it's eyes almost seeming to pierce the darkness ahead like laser pointers. He couldn't read Shine's emotions like he could Valconair's, mostly because Shine didn't have much of a face to have expressions on, but he guessed the phantom was getting the same crazy feelings he was.  
Hiding amongst the dark corners of the cave and hanging like bats from the lofty ceiling, myriads of glowing red and yellow eyes watched the travelers with a wary gaze. The demon swarm observed in silent, keen interest, not failing to take heed that a white haze invisible to human eyes hung around these three in silent guard; the Spirit had entered this place with them. ArchAngels they had fought before, humans they had slain in scores, but... none of them dared oppose the very Spirit of the Enemy. True, they'd encountered those owned by the Spirit in battle before, and while their forces had often been defeated, had on occasion they'd been able to take control of the person, the Spirit mysteriously vanishing once the person was under their control. This was far different, though, and they all knew it. The Spirit dwelt *inside* the children of the Truth, but rarely had any of them seen it form itself into a boundary, a shield around the soldiers of the Remnant. It existed as a guide, speaking to the children in ways none of them could comprehend, and when asked to by it's host it would protect them invisibly. Now, though, the Spirit of God hung sentry about them, like a powerful thundercloud given guard duty. It was not a force to be tampered with, and the demons knew it. Something important was happening.  
"Not since Egypt..." One dared whisper to another of it's kind. All of their eyes were glued to the white cloud as it slowly followed about the seven it protected and floated with them out of the small cavern.  
"Necros must be told!" Another demon spoke up once the Spirit had left the cavern. Other demons nodded in agreement and three flew off to report to their commander, the liaison Necros.  
  
"Tyra..." Gabor whispered to the white-cloaked Cardcaptor. She turned slightly to acknowledge him. "I get the feeling like we're being followed, and some other feeling too, almost like I know this place..."  
"I feel it too," She said, turning to look off into the dark edges of the room. "At least, the part about being followed. But there's also something else. I can feel it; the Spirit is here."  
"Yeah... you're right. I feel it too." Gabor stated. "Tyra, have you ever heard of a demon commander named Necros?"  
"Necros? Sorry, doesn't ring any bells."  
"He's had it in for me and the others for quite a while, and it wouldn't surprise me... if some of his forces are watching us right now!" He could suddenly distinguish dozens of pairs of yellow, predator eyes glaring at their small group from the shadows. Tyra saw them too, and the two warriors instantly activated their swords, the crosses around their necks metamorphing in their hands to become the skillful weapons.  
"What? What is it?" Tomoyo asked, stunned.  
"We've got company." Gabor stated as their group got into battle postures.  
  
Chapter 6- Spirit Thing  
  
Not seconds after Gabor got those words out of his mouth, the forces of darkness suddenly and violently began to flee in every direction. He and Tyra exchanged surprised, uncertain expressions when, in the blink of an eye, the demons were nowhere to be seen. Even Tomoyo suddenly felt that the cave suddenly seemed... emptier.  
"What was that all about?" Tyra asked, for once just as surprised as Gabor was.  
"I don't know..." He replied. "Whatever they were up to, we gotta keep alert. Who knows what Necros is planning this time."  
". . . I . . . I think I felt it..." Tomoyo stammered uncertainly. "... Whatever 'it' is..."  
"What I want to know is why they didn't attack." Tyra stated. "Their kind come only to kill, steal, and destroy; they wouldn't be following us unless it helped them accomplish one of those three things."  
"You're right," Gabor concluded. "They must be up to something, and I wouldn't be surprised if we find out Necros is behind Draeon's coming here."  
  
Necros was furious, and he intended to take out his frustrations on someone. He held the scout high in the air, crushing the small demon's throat and suffocating it more and more with each passing moment. It squirmed about in his grasp, trying desperately to get free, but found itself unable to even so much as squirm an inch out of Necros's tightening squeeze.  
"You incompetent, blithering imbeciles! You (censored) (censored)'n (censored) (censored)!!!" He threw the demon clear across the room, causing it to vanish into the ever-present dark fog. He pulled out a throwing dagger and expertly aimed it at where the small scouting demon had likely landed. The thing screamed in pain, then from somewhere beyond the fog came the sound of it being banished into the darkest, most inescapable regions of the Abyss. The regions where the slain forces of darkness await in chains for the final judgement. Few demons ever make it out of there, and most times only the strongest manage to escape unharmed. Necros was one of few who had. He locked a glare on the ranks of other demons in the room. "I should do away with you all, you blunderers!"  
"Listen, and listen good." Necros addressed the massive ranks. "The Warrior Card must *not* be allowed to fall into the hands of those Remnant interlopers! Watch them carefully and report their *every* action to Draeon *immediately* if not sooner. Whoever controls that one single Card could end up either severely limiting or multiplying the amount of power we have available to us in this world. If Draeon does not possess The Warrior, Gabor and his friends surely will! I want that Card!! Now go help Draeon get it, before I lose my temper!!"  
  
Draeon pushed Sakura up just ahead of him, the two of them entering a round, almost dome-like stone room. Sakura momentarily forgot about the fact she was a prisoner, her jaw dropping in disbelief at the beauty of this place. The walls were set with every kind of precious stone known to man and probably a few that weren't, their appearance completely bathing the room in light tinted a million colors. It was like she'd stepped into a living rainbow. The ceiling above her head housed one of the largest diamonds she could possibly imagine existed, it's thousand surfaces reflecting,... no, amplifying all the light in the room until the very air seemed to sparkle. Strange neon green symbols were set into most of the jewels, a strange 'tatoo' into the precious gemstones. Just in front of Sakura was a large pedestal made out of pure silver ores, and on top of that rested a large golden dome with small, hexagonal buttons all over it like an inverted surface of a beehive. Each button had a symbol engraved on it, and the symbols seemed to glow with a golden energy.  
"Whoa..." Sakura exclaimed, for the course of a moment allowing herself to get caught up in the wonder of her surroundings.  
Draeon, apparently, was unimpressed with the room. He gave Sakura a forceful shove towards the pedestal and the golden dome-device.  
"Listen to me now, little girl." He pointed at the dome. "That there is the next part of the Challenge. Legends about this place say that only the young girl who unlocked the powers of Clow Reed's Cards can open the seal of the Linking Book to the world of protected treasures. That dome is the lock," He spun Sakura around so she was face-to-face with his frustrated glare. "And you, my dear, are the key..."  
"But... I don't know how to-"  
"You *will* open the dome's lock," He threatened. "Or I may just decide to turn one of your two friends into *kindling*!"  
"OK, I'll do it, just don't hurt them!" She exclaimed, fearing for Kero and Li's lives.  
"That's a good little girl... now go on, open the ancient secret..." He smirked an evil, controlling smirk.  
Sakura approached the dome cautiously, then carefully looked over each symbol and matched as many as she could to the ones on the wall stones. 'I wonder...' She thought to herself. 'Maybe opening the lock has something to do with that giant diamond...' She decided to investigate that possibility first, searching the walls for any gems that pointed towards the diamond. Draeon watched her impatiently. She finally located one, took note of it's symbol; it looked like a hieroglyph shaped remarkably similar to her wand. She walked over and touched the identical symbol on the dome, which lit up at her touch.  
The room suddenly became drastically dark, the one exception being that one gemstone Sakura had activated. She gasped in surprise as the diamond sent small beams of blue light cascading all over the now dark room, the sole source of light. Draeon smiled wickedly, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he leveled a threatening glare at Sakura.  
"What?" She exclaimed. "I don't know how to do this!"  
"You *will* unlock the dome, or else!" He held up the Cards containing Li and Kerberus again. "Need I remind you that I'm the one in charge here?"  
Sakura turned back to the dome and looked it over again. If she really was supposed to be able to open this dome, then why was there only one symbol that she recognized, and it wasn't the one that worked?? Suddenly, Draeon noticed the wand in Sakura's hand.  
"Well, what have we here?" He pointed to the wand. Sakura grasped it tightly, but Draeon made no attempt to take it away. Instead, he walked over and examined the dome himself. A broad smile came over him. He pointed to her wand again. "My dear, that wand of yours is the exact same as the blue symbol you just pressed. It occurred to me that, perhaps, you are not the key... it is."  
"W-w-what do you mean??" Sakura stammered, backing up.  
"Give me the wand, little girl." Draeon ordered.  
"Never!" Sakura shouted.  
"Fine. We'll do this the hard way..." Draeon pulled a blank blue Card out and pointed it straight at Sakura. It began to glow as he chuckled maliciously.  
"What-what are you doing to me!!" Sakura shouted as her body began to disappear; first her whole body became transparent, then, like as if she was made of sand, she saw her body pulled into the Card. She screamed and tried to thrash away, but no matter where she went she kept vanishing. "Stop! Stop it!! Help!!!"  
"Sakura! Hang on, we're coming!" Came a shout from down the corridor. A split second later, Gabor, Tyra, and Tomoyo rushed onto the scene. Draeon smirked.  
"Well, if it isn't the dynamic duo and the camcorder kid! A little late, though." He mocked as, with a sudden scream of fear, Sakura completely vanished into the Card, her wand dropped to the floor where she'd been standing seconds before. The Card in Draeon's hand flashed white for a second before a picture of Sakura, a frightened scream frozen on her face, appeared on the surface of the Card.  
"Hold it right there, Draeon!" Tyra challenged as she and Gabor brought their swords to bear. "Release the girl right now or-"  
"Fine," He said, the three Cards containing Sakura, Li, and Kerberus in his left hand and Sakura's wand in his right. "If you want them, you can have them." He said with a smirk.  
Before any of them could react, Draeon threw the three Cards at Gabor and Tyra, in the same instance touching the glowing blue button on the dome with the tip of Sakura's wand. In the uneasy, confusing light of the room, Gabor and Tyra could barely see once Draeon tapped the dome with the wand, causing all the light to vanish as well as the dome. Before Gabor and Tyra could figure out what was going on, Draeon had vanished. A second later, the light of the room returned to it's normal shine.  
  
Chapter 7- Hidden Worlds  
  
"Where'd he go?" Gabor inquired. They looked about the room as Tomoyo picked up the three Cards that held her friends. The dome had vanished and in it's place was an open book, a slight glow emanating from it's inside cover.   
"He must have used that Linking Book to go to another world. Gabor, get Sakura and her friends out of those Cards while I take a look at this Book." Tyra stated. Gabor released Sakura, Li, and Kerberus from the Cards, much to all of their reliefs.  
"Wha... What happened? What was that??" Li inquired, shocked, once he was fully rematerialized. He looked around, then looked at Gabor. "Where are we, Gabor?"  
"Apparently we're in some kind of ancient puzzle." Gabor replied. "Draeon put us all out with some kind of sleep attack, then put you and Kerberus into these Cards."  
"We were *inside* those Cards?!" Li exclaimed.  
"Now ya know how I felt." Kerberus stated, flopping onto Sakura's shoulder. "Actually, that *was* pretty similar to gettin' put in a book for a few decades, if I do say so myself, and I would know."  
"...This is all my fault." Li said, turning his back to the group. "If I hadn't insisted on trying to open that door Draeon wouldn't have been able to sneak up on us and... oh, how could I have been so stupid!"  
"Li, get a grip." Kerberus stated. Sakura glared at him. "What??"  
"Li, it wasn't your fault." Sakura re-assured, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Draeon planned this all along. He even took me captive because he thought I could unlock that Linking Book. He played us all for fools; he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants and he'll steal and hurt whoever he needs to attain that."  
"But Sakura, you don't understand! I-"  
"You've always liked ancient secrets, Li. That's one of your coolest... well... hobbies. Draeon preyed on that; he tricked you and used you. It's not your fault, Li. He used you, he used both of us." She suddenly had a daring glint in her eye. "And now it's payback time, Cardcaptor style!"  
" . . . Thanks, Sakura." He smiled warmly. Sakura returned the gesture.  
"Now it's time we show him not to mess with Cardcaptors." Sakura said. She pointed to the Linking Book, then turned to Tyra. "Is it safe to go through after him?"  
She sighed in response, looking at the book like it was a frustrating homework assignment.  
"I can't be sure we'll be able to get back here. We could be trapped in the world this book links to forever. But I guess we don't really have much choice, do we?" Tyra said, looking over their group. "We may be the only shot at stopping him."  
"Count me in!" Kerberus exclaimed. "Nobody traps me in a Card without getting Kero-sized payback!"  
"You can count on me." Li added. "I owe that creep for using me, and he's gonna wish he's never heard the name of Li Shoran when I get through with him!"  
"We'll need to get my wand back, but I'm in." Sakura stated.  
"Me too!" Tomoyo added.  
"Draeon's going down." Gabor said, Valconair perching on his shoulder. Shine, Flight, and Tiger nodded in silent agreements.  
"Well..." Tyra smiled. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"  
  
Draeon swashed through the swampy marshlands he'd landed in, his heavy armor bogging him down. He knew he was close, he could feel it in his veins, or so it seemed. A massive demonic cloud hung over him, guarding him like a shield and pushing him invisibly towards the location of The Warrior Card. The demons seemed rowdy, almost gleeful at how close they were to a major victory, and their mood seemed to be wearing off on Draeon. He cackled to himself as he dragged his feet through the muck.  
Suddenly, one of the demons on the rear of the guard spotted something not too far off. Light. Invisible to humans, the demon knew instantly what this light was. Not even the hosts of heaven gave off light that painful.  
The small black shadow quickly sounded the alarm with a shriek. The other demons turned instantly at the sound and saw the light, drawing out their weapons and preparing for a fight. They knew none could truly defeat the Spirit, but they were here, on this human, by right. Nothing could remove any spirit, be it demon or angelic, from a host if the host would not allow it. It was God's own rule, and now the hoards of darkness played it to their advantage. The light got closer and closer.  
Draeon too suddenly was aware of a presence behind him. He spun and, his eyes glowing with demonic power, saw the small band who were following him far off. Too far for normal human eyes to have seen, and too well hidden amongst the foliage. He decided it was time to rid himself of those pests once and for all.  
  
"He's close by."Tyra warned. "If you look closely, you can see his footsteps in the mud."  
"This is never gonna come out." Sakura moaned, looking at the mud all over her outfit. "Ooh, I wish I had my wand!"  
"Flying wouldn't be a good idea, even if you did have your wand." Li stated, his robe carefully tied around his waist like a loose sweatshirt to keep it out of the mud. "You'd be too visible, and even more so if you used The Float Card."  
"For once, I think I agree with Li." Kerberus stated.  
"Well why don't you come down here and get a little muddy, Kero?? After all, you're too visible if you're flying." Sakura reprimanded.  
"Hey, I'm a lot smaller that you guys; I'm almost invisible as is." Kerberus replied. "*I* am a *master* of stealth!"  
Sakura made a mud ball and, before Kerberus could even notice it, she took aim and fired. The wet mud splattered all over Kerberus, turning him mostly brown.  
"HEY!!" He exclaimed. "What the heck was that for???"  
"Camouflage." Sakura replied.  
They traveled onward for a while more without further talk, and the group slowly began to see a lit cave up ahead. Suddenly, Gabor and Li heard a sudden 'slosh'ing sound that was out of rhythm with the group's footsteps.  
"Tyra, you hear something?" He inquired. She stopped for a second, listening.  
Out of the mud appeared, with a sound like thunder, a dozen or so strange humanoid mud creatures. Their arms were masses of tentacles, their faces mere blobs of rolling, oozing dirt and water. Gabor, Tyra, Li, Sakura, Kerberus and Tomoyo instantly went on the alert as more and more of the creatures appeared.  
"You like?" Came Draeon's voice. Tyra instantly spun to see him standing on top of the cave entrance. "They're mud beasts, probably native to this planet. All it takes is a little electrical current to get them excited enough to attack." He held up a glowing black, blue, and red Card, small zaps of electricity sparking around it. The mud monsters suddenly looked at the Card as if looking at a predator invading their territory. "Have fun, kiddies!" The Card lashed out with an electrical blast at the small strike force, forming a small ball of electricity that hovered nearby. The mud creatures gave out a distorted sound like a war cry and lunged at the orb, tentacles whipping. The orb dodged as Draeon leapt off the entrance and into the cave, the mud monsters following the orb as it shot straight towards Gabor and the others. It exploded into a hundred electrical currents, aimed expertly for each person in the group.  
"Incoming!" Kerberus shouted, dodging high into the air. Gabor, Tyra, and Li drew their swords and Cards as the electricity got within a few feet, then suddenly zapped into the ground a few feet from them. Gabor looked puzzled, as did the mud creatures.  
"What happened?" Sakura inquired. "Why'd it stop it's attack?"  
The answer came in a shocking form. Electricity sparked suddenly amongst the mud, then erupted upwards, electrocuting Gabor, Tyra, and Li. The current faded as the trio slumped to the ground, dazed at the least. Suddenly, the muds were on the move again.  
"Are you guys OK?" Tomoyo asked as the creatures got slowly closer.  
"Li, your sword!" Sakura exclaimed. Li quickly recovered as best he could and looked at his sword. It glowed a light neon blue. The creatures kept coming at them, now faster.  
"He must have charged the metal in our swords, turning them into electro magnets!" Tyra exclaimed. She looked at her own sword, a sudden neon blue as well.  
"If they're made of mud..." Gabor drew out a Card. "Then maybe I can fry these things!"  
He threw the Card into action, a massive flaming fireball bursting into being. It shot straight at the muds, exploding into a massive firestorm as it hit the mud. The creatures cracked and dried up into dust as the flames devoured them.  
"Gabor, maybe that wasn't so smart." Tyra said suddenly.  
"Huh?"  
She suddenly pointed to the masses of plants nearby. Many were already on fire. Nearby trees were bursting into flame at an alarming rate, filling the swamp with fire. Suddenly, a nearby flaming tree toppled over, falling right in-between the group and the entrance before bursting into a wall of flames. The muds were on the run now, vanishing into the parts of forest not yet touched by the fire.  
"OK, maybe you're right." Gabor admitted. He pulled out another Card. "But I can fix this."  
"I'll fix this." Tyra said, pulling out her own Card.  
Valconair and Flight went into action immediately, blowing away the wall of flame in-between them and the cave entrance. Slowly, but surely, it began to work, but the rest of the forests were going up in flames all around them, filling the group's surroundings in every direction possible. With a final, powerful gust, Valconair and Flight cut into the fire, putting out the burnt tree.  
"C'mon! Let's move it!" Kero shouted, heading for the cave entrance.  
  
"Maybe you two are better suited for the demolition derby." Kerberus chastised. The group lay, panting, just inside the cave entrance, Kerberus laying on Sakura's shoulder.  
"Cut it out." Was all Gabor had to say in response.  
"We were lucky to make it out of that *alive*, Mr. 'Maybe-I-can-fry-these-things'." Tyra added. "Next time we're attacked my mud creatures, try not to do something stupid like that, OK?!"  
"OK! Sheesh!" Gabor exclaimed.  
"Um, I hate to break up the cat fight," Li interjected. "But Draeon's still on the loose."  
"He's right." Tyra said, getting to her feet. "If you're coming, follow me. Right about now, I could probably do better on my own."  
"Look, I'm sorry!" Gabor exclaimed again. "It's not like I've ever battled mud beasts in a swamp before."  
"That makes two of us." Tyra said. She sighed, then turned to face the group. "C'mon, let's just go."  
"Can't we... rest for a little while?" Sakura inquired, still panting exhaustedly.  
"Sakura, I know it's not your strong suit, but let's do some math here." Kerberus chastised. "Evil supervillain plus unknown evil plot times-"  
"OK, I get the idea!" She exclaimed, standing up. "Alright, let's do it."  
  
Chapter 8- The Card  
  
"Those kids oughta be about dead by now." Draeon said to himself. Know yourself, know your opponent, and you have the key to victory. Draeon knew Tyra well enough by now, well enough to realize that almost all if not all of her elemental Event Cards were thunderbolts. Even if they did manage to find a way to defeat the muds, he knew that soon enough those brats would be of no threat to him.  
Ahead of him in these dank, torch-lit caves, Draeon could make out a set of wooden doors with golden scroll work. 'At last!' He thought to himself.  
He pushed aside the massive doors and was suddenly greeted by the intense light of... day? In a cave?? As his eyes adjusted, he could see that this place had a fairly significant light source. A light source emanating from a single glowing synthetic crystal inset into the ceiling, the gem almost as big as the whole ceiling. He noted the bronze walls of the room and the silver pillars that held up the edges of the ceiling, and the strange lettering carved into every available inch of each pillar. There, right beneath the gem, almost seeming to reflect the light like a mirror, was The Card. The Warrior Card. He rubbed his hands together like a greedy child who'd found the cookie jar.  
"At long last . . . you're mine!" He rushed up to the Card, snatching it easily from it's resting place atop a bronze pedestal beneath the primitive lightbulb.  
"Force, hear my plight; release the light. Lightning!"  
Draeon spun around just in time to dodge a massive surge of electrical artillery fire from Li's sword. Li, Sakura, Kero, Gabor, Tomoyo, and Tyra rushed into the large room not moments later.  
"Ever thought of just pointing and firing, Li?" Gabor inquired in a whispered tone. "You kinda gave us away there."  
"Don't you scum ever just give up???" Draeon asked, annoyed. "No problem. I now have all the power I need to destroy each and every one of you! Warrior Card, come forth!" He dramatized, holding the Card high over his head.  
The Card did nothing.  
"Huh?" Draeon seemed surprised. "What's wrong with this thing??"  
"I think your 'warrior' is out on holiday, 'Creep-o'." Kerberus laughed.  
Not even seconds later, their entire group was thrown backwards as a sudden rush of energy like a tidal wave appeared and threw them into the wall. The energy vanished just as suddenly as it appeared, and it was almost like it had never existed.  
"OW!" Sakura exclaimed. "What the heck was that????"  
"Ha!" Draeon laughed. "Looks like I have an invisible Warrior! Ha!"  
"We gotta fight this thing somehow!" Gabor stated, getting to his feet. He pulled out a handful of Cards, as did Tyra. Li pulled out one of his Clow Cards.  
A split second later, an invisible hand snatched all the Cards out of their hands, like as if the wind had blown them out of their grasps. The Cards floated over to Draeon as Gabor and the others watched in stunned disbelief. He took them and held them in his hands, laughing like a maniac.  
"Hahahahahaha! Now what do you think of my mighty Warrior, kiddies? Haha! Prepare for your final destruction!"  
"Not so fast Draeon!" Tyra challenged, sword in hand.  
Suddenly, a glowing blue fist appeared in mid-air, leveled itself at Tyra, and in the same second struck. Tyra fell back, the fists striking her in the chest and face until blood flowed. She quickly dodged one of the transparent fists, slashing her sword straight through where she anticipated it's torso to be. The fists vanished the instant the sword struck.  
"Mighty," Tyra said, wiping a trickle of blood from her lips. "But not invincible."  
Suddenly, a glowing blue fist spun her around and leveled an uppercut at her. Tyra went down hard. Gabor rushed over to her as she struggled to get to her feet.  
"Quick! Maybe we stand a better chance outside!" Li proposed. The fists vanished as the group rushed outside, Draeon laughing at them and mocking them all the way.  
"After them, Warrior! Destroy them utterly and completely!" Draeon ordered, feeling rather sure about himself. "Soon, I will be king of all that exists!"  
  
The fires Gabor had started had died down quite a bit. The swamp almost looked normal again, with the exception of the many burnt-down trees and other vegetation. Gabor and Tyra rushed outside, followed by Li, Sakura, and Kerberus, and Tomoyo bringing up the rear. Somewhere behind them, the invisible Warrior slowly stalked after them from a distance. The small group of Cardcaptors gathered together in the swamp, a good couple dozen feet from the entrance to the cave.  
"When it comes out, we should be able to see it's footsteps in the mud." Li stated, sword ready.  
"That's ingenious, Li!" Sakura stated.  
"Hopefully it'll work." Tyra stated, still wiping blood from her nose and mouth.  
They waited. Suddenly, footprints appeared in the mud. They had to be at least twice the size of human footprints, and appeared almost perfectly ovular.  
A few footprints later, a roar was heard in the swamp. The muds were back.  
  
Chapter 9- The Thief  
  
Muds began popping up everywhere, until a massive army of them formed. Gabor, Li, Sakura, Tyra, Kero, and Tomoyo looked nervously about as they formed into a solid wall around the edges of the visible swamp, them began to converge. The Warrior too had stopped, and as far as they could tell was also a little nervous about the army all about it.  
Suddenly, one of the muds let out a shout, and the whole swarm closed in like an army rushing out to the fight. Li drew his sword, but Gabor held him back.  
"I don't think it's us they're after." Gabor stated. "We're not electrically charged anymore."  
"But then . . ." Li wondered.  
"They must be after the Warrior." Tyra stated.  
She was right. The mud creatures passed by Gabor and the group and converged upon the invisible Cardcreature like they were drawn there by a magnet. Electricity flared out from the Warrior like it was a living thunderbolt, breaking muds apart left and right. The stumps of the muds' bodies were still for a moment or two, then quickly regrew as they renewed their attack, tentacles whipping like a swarm of killer squids. The monsters piled on top of the invisible Warrior in a huge sloshing, whipping hoard. A few minutes later, the pile collapsed in on itself as a bolt of electrical energy fled from the mass.  
Draeon stood at the entrance to the cave, the reflective Warrior Card in his hand, obviously upset by this turnabout. The energy disappeared back into it's Card and vanished with a light residual glow on the Card.  
"You . . . will all pay for that!" Draeon challenged.  
"But first to take my wand back." Sakura retorted, the muds vanishing back into the muck from which they'd come. "Give it up or face the consequences!"  
"You want this?" He pulled out the wand and tossed it at her. "You can have it."  
Sakura snatched her wand in mid-air, gave a questioning look to Li, who shrugged in response, and then prepared to battle.  
"Keep your guard up, people." Kero stated. "He's up to somethin'."  
"Give me your best shots, punks!" Draeon challenged with a frustrated, forced laugh. "You can't win."  
With a nod from Li, the battle began. Sakura instantly sent out The Shadow, The Power put The Sword into play along with The Shield, and readied The Windy just in case. Gabor pulled out his full force of Cardcreatures, as did Tyra. Ti got his sword ready while Draeon pulled out two Cards. One was Li's Time Card, the other looked very much like a human ninja.  
"That's my Time Card! Give it back!" Li shouted.  
"Now it's *my* Time Card, little boy!" Draeon replied, then turned to his ninja-thing. "Thief, take control of those Cards! I want every single last one of them."  
"What the-!" Sakura exclaimed.  
Without warning, small circles of blue energy shot out of The Thief's eyes. Each time it touched one of Sakura's Cardcreatures it flashed blue for a second, acting as if it was in pain, then suddenly walked over and joined at Draeon's sides. Strangely, Gabor and Sakura's Cards weren't effected.  
"Don't use any more of your Cards!" Tyra warned. "He'll just turn them against you."  
"No duh!!" Draeon mocked. "OK, forces. Attack!"  
Shine and Shadow met in a violent clash, their cloth-like forms lashing out at each other with great swoops, dives, and strikes. Time had a good amount of trouble as it got engaged by both Tiger and Flight, but countered as best it could with a sudden temporary time freeze around the two Cardcreatures. It lunged to attack, but was suddenly caught off guard as Plague sent it flying with a kick from above followed by a slash with it's sword-like forearms. Li and Sakura engaged Draeon with swords slashing left and right as the warlord suddenly put into play a pair of his own razor-sharp single-edged swords, blocking and parrying Li and Sakura's blows and strikes. Gabor and Tyra engaged Thief, which suddenly took on the form of a super fast black blur as it dodged their every swipe and slash with impossible speed and evasiveness.  
Valconair's body, surrounded by a field of hot white energy, turned the tide of battle against Shadow as it came to Shine's aid, slashing at the phantom with it's wings and plowing into it as best it could. Power engaged Sign in head-to-head fierce battle, the little-girl-like powerhouse grabbing the fallen tree that had before blocked the cave entrance, and brought it down on Sign like it was a baseball bat, crushing the poor creature in a single blow. It retreated to it's Card form as Power looked about for other targets to pound. It found one very quickly as Cobra suddenly appeared out of nowhere, coiling itself around Power so fast the small creature didn't have time to react. Once it got it's chance, though, it grabbed onto part of the snake and squeezed as tight as it could, but Cobra barely felt it through it's wood-like protective armor.  
Draeon back-flipped high into the air and aimed a powerful energy blast at Li. The black energy exploded up all around him, sending mud flying everywhere, but he himself wasn't hit thanks to Sakura's Shield Card power, which seemed, like The Sword, not to be effected by the control waves because it was being used in it's ability-only form. Li retaliated, taking a wide swing at Draeon mid-jump, but missed. Sakura followed up the strike, taking a jab at Draeon the moment he landed. She made a clean cut at his elbow, but that was about it.  
Suddenly, Tomoyo appeared on the scene, she and Kerberus lunging at Draeon and nailing him square in the chest. The warlord flew a few feet through the air and then hit the mud back-first, one sword having dropped out of his hands. Tomoyo grabbed the sword and pointed it straight at Draeon's chest as he starred down the sharp, pointed blade.  
"Call off your Cards, creep, and *now*!" Tomoyo demanded.  
"Or what? You'll kill me, little girl?"  
"You wanna find out?" She challenged.  
"You wouldn't kill me, now would you? If you killed me, you'd be a murderer, wouldn't you?"  
"I'd be defending my friends, and if you think I wouldn't kill you to protect them from harm, then you don't know the first thing about me."  
  
The demons clinging to Draeon had seen enough. In the physical realm, it was painfully clear that this fight wasn't going in the direction they'd been hoping it would. In the spiritual, it became even more clear they couldn't win as a myriad of ArchAngels plowed through the demonic ranks Necros had assigned to this fight. Each one glanced quickly at the others in silent communication, then all at once uncoiled their talons from around Draeon's body and flew away as fast as they could, dodging angels in their flight.  
  
Suddenly, it seemed Draeon had lost his insaniac courage. Fear showed in his eyes as Tomoyo shoved the sword under his chin.  
"OK, OK, I give up!" He dropped the sword in his left hand. Still at sword point, he called The Thief back, releasing Sakura and Li's Cardcreatures from his control. Tomoyo's sword still aimed at his heart, he slowly got to his feet. "I give up."  
"Finally," Tyra exclaimed. "Something sensible."  
"Hand over the Warrior Card, too." Tomoyo demanded.  
He hesitated, then, under Tomoyo's watchful gaze, took out the Card and put it into Tomoyo's outstretched hand.  
"So what do we do with him?" Sakura inquired.  
"If you ask me, we should leave him here." Tyra stated. "He would do no less to us."  
"But we're not like you, Draeon." Gabor stated. Tyra nodded. "Besides, we can't exactly leave him here if we don't know how to get home ourselves."  
"I believe I may know the answer." Kero stated. All eyes except Tomoyo's looked at him instantly. "I believe I noticed a book back there in the cave, put into a little slot into the pedestal."  
  
There it was, alright. It's golden-colored pages and cover had made for perfect camouflage, but there it was nonetheless. Li pulled it out of the perfectly concealing slot in the pedestal with some effort, then laid it open on top with the cover page showing.  
"Gabor, you and Li go through first." Tyra instructed. "Afterwards, we'll send Draeon through and then go through ourselves."  
"Sounds like a plan." Gabor stated. Li touched the cover, vanished, and Gabor followed.  
  
Tyra reappeared back upon the same rooftop she and Gabor had had their first encounter upon, and instantly knew something had gone wrong. Draeon was gone.  
"Gabor! Where's Draeon??!" She exclaimed. "What happened??!"  
"He must have had a teleport Card in his hand when he came through."Li explained. "He showed up for a second, then vanished!"  
"He's way too clever." Gabor stated. "He was planning his escape all along."  
Sakura suddenly appeared right next to Tyra, simply blinking into existence. A split second later Tomoyo appeared, Kero perched on her shoulder.  
"Yo! Where's 'Drag-on'?" Kerberus inquired.  
  
Chapter 10- New Friends  
  
Gabor stood atop the city's tallest skyscraper, a place he often went to collect his thoughts and sort things out. Necros had released *another* diabolical destroyer on Tokyo, and this one was insane just for the fun of it. He was a the thief who came here only to steal, kill, and destroy. He sounded a lot like Necros. Gabor looked out into the night sky, the stars shining brilliantly against the navy-blue backdrop despite the lights of the city.  
"You come up here often?"  
He spun to identify the voice and saw Tyra standing not far away on the rooftop, likewise looking out at the city on Gabor's right.  
"Sometimes, yeah. Mostly just when I have a lot on my mind ."  
"Your world is very different from the one I come from." She stated. "Yet I find many things are the same. We both have the same enemy now, we both have the same cause, and we both have the same Savior. It's comforting to know that."  
"Remind me to introduce you to Kai sometime. He's kinda my guardian angel."  
"And I you to Virocia." She responded. "It seems we have very much more in common than I at first expected."  
"True." He stated. "So, any plans on how you intend to get back to your own world?"  
"No; unfortunately my chances of discovering a Linking Book here on your world that leads back to mine are slim to none. I may eventually have to start writing one myself, and there's no guarantees that that'll work."  
"So it looks like you're going to be here a while, huh?"  
"Looks to be that way."  
"So, the way I see it, you need to dress for the occasion." Gabor proposed. "First, we need to get you some clothing that doesn't scream 'Remnant Cardcaptor', then we'll see if we can't find you a place to stay until you can find a way home."  
"I really did misjudge you, Gabor." She said, turning to him with a smile.  
"And until we can get you home, we'll be tracking down Draeon as best we can. We'll get him eventually." He stated. "That's a promise."  
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow with a friendly smirk. "I guess that makes us friends."  
"No, not really." He replied with a casual shrug. "Saving each other's lives, traveling through dimensions together, and stopping evil maniacs; *that* makes us friends."  
They both chuckled at that.  
"Looks like you two are getting to be good friends."  
This time they both turned at the unidentified voice. With a light shimmer effect, Kai and a female angel in sand-tan armor with golden eyes and long red hair materialized on the rooftop nearby.  
"Kai! We were just talking about you." Gabor mused, turning towards his angelic mentor.  
"Gabor, meet Virocia." Kai said, motioning to the young angel at his side.  
"Nice to meet you." She greeted, a song-like quality to her voice that seemed full of life catching Gabor's attention. "I've heard some very good things about you from Kai here."  
"Well, thanks for the compliment." Gabor replied.  
"Tyra," Virocia turned her attention to her human companion. "I've got a message for you, and it's from Michael himself."  
"Wow, this sounds interesting." She stated. "He's about as top-brass as they get."  
"Actually, it's a new assignment." Virocia stated. "You are to stay here and help guard the two children. Don't worry, we'll prepare a way for you to get home when the time is right."  
"And," Kai added. "I think you two will make as good team as any."  
Gabor and Tyra looked at each other, then nodded in agreement with a smile passing between them.  
"Hey," Gabor offered. "How about I show you around the city? We could grab a bite to eat if you wanted."  
The two angels looked at each other knowingly, a look that went unnoticed by Gabor and Tyra.  
"Thanks," Tyra accepted with a friendly smile. "I'd like that."  
"Remember you two," Virocia teased. "Don't stay out past your bedtimes."  
"You're such a mom sometimes." Tyra replied, turning to look at Virocia. Virocia merely shrugged and smiled.  
  
"Hey, Tomoyo, listen..." Li started, holding the phone with his shoulder while re-bandaging one of his arm wounds. "I'm sorry for doubting you before. You really saved our necks back there today."  
"Hey, no sweat." She stated, a friendly laugh accompanying her statement. "Never knew I took fencing lessons a while back, did ya?"  
"Yeah, well, I can be kinda harsh sometimes-"  
"I think I've noticed *that*." Tomoyo stated. "You were saying?"  
"I know I can be kinda harsh sometimes, and I just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings. I haven't exactly trusted you much since Gabor showed up, and I'm sorry for that. Still my friend?"  
"Ah, why not?" She mused. "Everybody makes mistakes."  
"By the way, you think you could bring a sword with you next time you go on one of your videotaping kicks?"  
"If I did that, who would work the camera?" She laughed.  
  
-----  
The Characters I own:  
Gabor, Remnant CARDCAPTOR extreme  
Tyra, AKA White Tiger  
Draeon, the mostly insane warlord from another earth  
  
The concepts I own:  
Remnant Cardcaptors  
ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors  
  
Cardcaptor concepts I own:  
The Valconair  
The Cobra  
The Shine  
The Sign  
The Plague  
The Flight  
The Tiger  
The Thief  
The Warrior  
  
Who owns everything else:  
Cardcaptors, Li, Sakura, Kerberus, and Tomoyo are property Clamp  
Kai, Phalyn, Necros, and Balera (briefly mentioned) are property of Eternal Studios and ArchAngels: The Saga  
The original idea for Linking Books comes from the computer game series, Myst and Riven, owned by Red Orb and Cyan productions.  
  
If anyone wants to create a sequel to this fic, the only condition is that you send me the sequel before distributing it.  
  
OK, now I *can* claim to know a little more about Cardcaptors than I did when I started, but please still don't flame me if it turns out Cardcaptors: 'The Realm Series' is nothing like the TV show/anime/manga (At long last! I can finally spell!), ect...  
  
E-Mail me at   
  
And now for another, much briefer word from the author, um, me.  
  
"OK, by now you've likely read my other two stories and realized I'm serious about this whole Jesus business. Many people can and have criticized me for writing Christian fanfics, but that just tells me that what I'm doing is right. You see, I realize that there *is* a spiritual war going on all around us, there *is* a God to turn it all around and tell you the reason for which you're on this earth, and there *is* a fallen but dangerous deceiver named Satan who wants you dead and burning in Hell with him when Judgement comes. There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. You can't get to heaven on works or good intention or comparing yourself to other 'worse' people. The fact is that, to get salvation, you need to give up all of your secrets, lay down your pride and selfishness, take up a very painful cross and follow after Jesus, learning to live by the laws of His Holy Spirit. His laws say His blood can forgive you for everything you've ever done, His law says that you need a personal relationship with Jesus to be saved, and that "whoever denies (Jesus) before men, so will God deny him on the day of judgement". I won't bore you with a sermon; you need to know Jesus took your shame, took your Hell, and died on a Roman cross 2000 years ago so (your name here) didn't have to go to Hell. God doesn't look at humanity as a population or at how many of us there are, He cares about each individual.  
The generation we live in is full of a desire for the unknown known as 'extreme'. I challenge you right now to do something very extreme with God, who both knows and is the definition of true extremeness. I challenge you, *dare you* to push your seat out of your way, put it behind you somewhere, turn off your monitor, and make an altar with God right where you're sitting. If you don't know for 100% honest-to-God-sure that your life is redeemed by the blood of Jesus the son of God, I encourage and challenge you to kneel right there and ask Jesus to save your soul. You don't have to know 'the right words', because there's no such thing. Just be honest with God; he'll meet you right there in front of your computer station. If you do know Jesus, I encourage you to do the same thing, except pray that this message would rescue someone's heart from Hell and resuscitate their life in God's Holy Spirit. Know that God hears you, no matter what, and that you don't have to take Satan's garbage anymore. Remember: saved or unsaved, (your name here) needs Jesus!  
If you don't understand what I'm telling you, you know where you can contact me. God knows, you know, and worst of all, Satan knows that U need Jesus Christ in your life to fill that "unfillable" hole in your heart that screams for 'more, more, more!', and don't you dare think that Satan's gonna take that sitting down. The enemy of (your name here)'s soul knows that if you turn against him, he'll be powerless to stop you from fulfilling God's eternal plan for your life. He wants you dead, and he'll do it one way or another, and if you don't ask God to help, he may just beat you hands-down. No joke.  



End file.
